my DAT story

[lemoncurry]

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It all started about 7 months ago when I purchased TopScore Pro but really didn't kick into gear until about a month ago. I started reading my Campbell-Reese Biology book from cover to cover and reviewed my g-chem notes. Then my wife got me the Kaplan book and the Schaum's reviews of Bio and Chem. She also got me a second copy of the topscore since she didn't know that I had one already.

My plan, after taking some individual section practice tests, was to do a full test on each of the two days prior to my exam. I didn't get a chance to do one two days before, but I hunkered down and got ready to do my full test the night before.

When I opened my Topscore pro, to my surprise it informed me that my license had expired THAT DAY! My seven months was up the day before my exam! After calming myself down, I realized i could try the license from the CD my wife had bought me. I entered it into the software but for some reason it did not accept it, saying it was already used. At this time, I am freaking out and foaming at the mouth. I tried about every combination of things I could do, uninstalling, installing on a different computer, delete stuff from the registry, even trying to find a hack. No luck. I figured I would have to bite the bullet and purchase a new license. I place my order... and the web site is not responding. I try their backup form, and no confirmation email. So, I disobey the instructions not to press the submit order button more than once, and I press it again. Finally the order goes through and I get my confirmation email..... only to find out that they only send licenses during business hours! It is 8 pm in CA, and 11 PM in GA where their office is.

I started getting desparate. I called their office and not even an answering machine picked up. I searched for another number, even a name of anyone who worked there. I found the name of the CEO and then did a people search on that name in the city where the company is. I found one match and I called up the number. The guy answered and was very nice, but he wasn't the right John Doe. Finally I sent them a scathing email expressing my extreme dissatisfaction, and I resorted to using the test on the Kaplan book CD, even though the software is inferior.

I got through the whole test and did okay, but scored a 17/15/16 on Bio, GC, OC, which sucked, IMO. Went to bed.

Took the test at 10 the next morning, finished each section at least 5-10 minutes early, even came back from break 5 mins early.

here are my scores:

bio: 23
gchem: 17
ochem: 19
total sci: 20
PAT: 20
reading: 23
math: 28

acad avg: 22


I was shooting for a 23, so a 22 is acceptable. The guy at the testing center said he thought my scores were as good as or better than anything he's seen in the last 10 years. I'll take it! I'm still kicking myself about g-chem though.

The angles section was friggin tough! The majority of the questions had angles that were only slightly different, and what people say about the hole punching is correct: they really don't prepare you for all the kinds of folds on the PAT, and the software didn't, in my opinion, place the holes correctly all the time. There were several occasions where the hole punched looked to be inbetween two of the standard spots for holes.

All in all, it was a good experience and I am pleased with my results. A word from the wise, check your licenses on your TopScore and make sure it does not expire on you the night before or you are screwed!

 

[cotinara]

congratulations on a good score and getting done! 👍

 

[cotinara]

congratulations on a good score and getting done! 👍 was there are alot of calculations on the Gchem part?

 

[lemoncurry]

I believe there was a decent mix of calculations in that section. I didn't encounter calculations about reaction rates, but there were stoichiometric calculations that were about as complex as I remember them. I think I remember one that had something to do with a K value calculation (products over reactants and all that).

The annoying thing for me is that I aced my g-chem, which i took just over a year ago, and got all A's in O-chem that i took last year, and i sucked the hardest on those sections.

 

[Dr. juju]

congrads on your scores. 🙂

just as a curousity, what method did you use for reading comp?

 

[Orthodox Bear]

Great job on QR!!! You have great scores man your set for dental school, good luck

 

[lemoncurry]

to be honest, i just read through the passages fairly thoroughly. the first was about cancer and i read that one carefully. the second was about stocks and whatnot and i read that one as carefully as i could although i had to clean the glaze off my eyes. the final was about the sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system.

I didn't write anything down, i just referred back to the text. no tricks, nothing special. *shrug*

 

[JohnDoeDDS]

great scores.

How did you study the pattern folding of the PAT?

 

[Envision]

nice scores 😉

 

[dramashok]

It all started about 7 months ago when I purchased TopScore Pro but really didn't kick into gear until about a month ago. I started reading my Campbell-Reese Biology book from cover to cover and reviewed my g-chem notes. Then my wife got me the Kaplan book and the Schaum's reviews of Bio and Chem. She also got me a second copy of the topscore since she didn't know that I had one already.

My plan, after taking some individual section practice tests, was to do a full test on each of the two days prior to my exam. I didn't get a chance to do one two days before, but I hunkered down and got ready to do my full test the night before.

When I opened my Topscore pro, to my surprise it informed me that my license had expired THAT DAY! My seven months was up the day before my exam! After calming myself down, I realized i could try the license from the CD my wife had bought me. I entered it into the software but for some reason it did not accept it, saying it was already used. At this time, I am freaking out and foaming at the mouth. I tried about every combination of things I could do, uninstalling, installing on a different computer, delete stuff from the registry, even trying to find a hack. No luck. I figured I would have to bite the bullet and purchase a new license. I place my order... and the web site is not responding. I try their backup form, and no confirmation email. So, I disobey the instructions not to press the submit order button more than once, and I press it again. Finally the order goes through and I get my confirmation email..... only to find out that they only send licenses during business hours! It is 8 pm in CA, and 11 PM in GA where their office is.

I started getting desparate. I called their office and not even an answering machine picked up. I searched for another number, even a name of anyone who worked there. I found the name of the CEO and then did a people search on that name in the city where the company is. I found one match and I called up the number. The guy answered and was very nice, but he wasn't the right John Doe. Finally I sent them a scathing email expressing my extreme dissatisfaction, and I resorted to using the test on the Kaplan book CD, even though the software is inferior.

I got through the whole test and did okay, but scored a 17/15/16 on Bio, GC, OC, which sucked, IMO. Went to bed.

Took the test at 10 the next morning, finished each section at least 5-10 minutes early, even came back from break 5 mins early.

here are my scores:

bio: 23
gchem: 17
ochem: 19
total sci: 20
PAT: 20
reading: 23
math: 28

acad avg: 22


I was shooting for a 23, so a 22 is acceptable. The guy at the testing center said he thought my scores were as good as or better than anything he's seen in the last 10 years. I'll take it! I'm still kicking myself about g-chem though.

The angles section was friggin tough! The majority of the questions had angles that were only slightly different, and what people say about the hole punching is correct: they really don't prepare you for all the kinds of folds on the PAT, and the software didn't, in my opinion, place the holes correctly all the time. There were several occasions where the hole punched looked to be inbetween two of the standard spots for holes.

All in all, it was a good experience and I am pleased with my results. A word from the wise, check your licenses on your TopScore and make sure it does not expire on you the night before or you are screwed!

I was just curious, what did you use and do to study for your math section considering you did so well?

 

[NilamPatel]

400 views and 8 responses..wow

well congrats on those scores you are amazing because I would have started to cry in fetal position in a corner somewhere.

how did you kill the QR??

 

[lemoncurry]

400 views and 8 responses..wow

well congrats on those scores you are amazing because I would have started to cry in fetal position in a corner somewhere.

how did you kill the QR??

When I saw my scores appear on the screen, I did start to tear up. But I think my scores suck compared to some of the scores posted here in the last few days: most with AA of 23 or more.

I have a bit of an advantage with the math section. This summer I am working as a math tutor for incoming freshmen who need remedial help, so a lot of the basic algebra and whatnot is very fresh in my mind. But I have always done well on math. I scored perfect on my college's entrance level math exam (ELM for californians), I score 720 out of 800 on one of my SATs, etc. I'm sure, however, that I missed all the questions that had to do with how fast two people could paint a room together if they paint at different speeds. I had a brain fart with those and it's frustrating because the program I am tutoring for teaches those kinds of problems. oh well. 28 is still good 😉

Again, for the PAT, I didn't have any specific study pattern, other than the Kaplan book and the practice tests. I'm generally a fast test-taker, so the ones I knew, i answered right away and that left me extra time to answer the ones I wasn't sure about. I'm not real happy with a 20 on that section, but at least it wasn't lower. If it were, i probably would retake the test.

Thanks for the compliments, all!

 

[turtlepower126]

you did pretty good on the dat.. i can only hope i can do the same... do you have any suggestions for the QR?? QR is somewhat difficult for me which is weird because everyone seems to refer to it as 'basic math'. I didn't do well on the SATs and ALWAYS did poorly in math (but for some reason, I aced physics.. and thats math!!) if you have any suggestions, please let me know! im actually taking the kaplan course right now and i think the problems on the practice tests are difficult.. i can solve them, but it takes me much longer than the allotted time for that section...

 

[ConfusedOne]

score 720 out of 800 on one of my SATs, etc. I'm sure, however, that I missed all the questions that had to do with how fast two people could paint a room together if they paint at different speeds. I had a brain fart with those and it's frustrating because the program I am tutoring for teaches those kinds of problems. oh well. 28 is still good 😉

Great scores!! Congrats.
I don't think there is much correlation b/t SAT math and DAT QR. I got an 800 on the SAT and didn't kill it like you did 😡

 

[lemoncurry]

you're probably right, but I was just using it as an example of how I've generally been good at math.


turtlepower, I don't know how much advice I can give you other than to just practice and to think "outside the box". Like I said, I've had the advantage of being part of a remedial math program (as a tutor, not a student!) for the past two summers, and the professors doing it have really showed me a lot of helpful information in terms of looking at math problems in a unique way instead of just memorizing procedures and getting locked into that.